Ballot shortages in Mississippi created a problem for democracy on the day of a governor’s election

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, MICHAEL GOLDBERG and AYANNA ALEXANDER
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — People in Mississippi’s largest county are demanding answers about why some polling places ran out of ballots and voters had to wait for them to be replenished on the day the state was deciding its most competitive governor’s race in a generation. It’s unclear how many people left without voting Tuesday. Activists say election officials’ failure is shocking, especially in a state where civil rights leaders were beaten or killed in the 1960s and earlier to secure voting rights for Black residents. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves defeated Democratic challenger Brandon Presley in Mississippi’s most expensive gubernatorial race.